Joliet theater being restored to 1920s opulence

Thursday

A 1920s-era theater known as the “Jewel of Joliet” is undergoing a makeover meant to restore it to its original gilded grandeur.

A 1920s-era theater known as the “Jewel of Joliet” is undergoing a makeover meant to restore it to its original gilded grandeur.

Inside Rialto Square Theatre, which opened in 1926 and underwent a restoration in the 1980s, shining columns rise into a celestial dome full of intricate sculptures. A Duchess chandelier dominates the rotunda. Cream-colored marble walls line the lobby and cherubim flutter into the auditorium.

The Will County Metropolitan Exposition and Auditorium Authority, which operates the theater, began the restoration 18 months ago with the help of a $5 million fundraising campaign that is a little more than halfway to its goal, said Tina Postel, director of development.

In addition to improving on its original features, the theater also will get a new stage manager’s panel, which controls lighting, marking a move from analog to digital technology.

David Kump, director of commercial leasing for the authority, strolls through the archway leading into the theater’s column-lined rotunda, pointing to rolls of new carpet that will line the grand staircases. The carpet design is black, gold and light burgundy with a pattern that reprises the original carpet design of 1926.

“It’s going to be spectacular,” Kump said.

The lobby’s marble walls were polished by Conrad Schmitt Studios, the same company that did major restoration work at the Rialto in 1980, Kump said. The black marble base on the walls of the esplanade, fashioned after the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles in France, has been polished, as has the elegant red, pink and gray scagliola above the base.

Water damage is being repaired in some places, and on the promenade outside the auditorium, carpet has been replaced and all of the silk wall covering will be replaced, authorities said.

In the auditorium, the cherubim, gold leaves and other designs in plaster on the walls at stage level have been refurbished, and the base of the arch has been repainted and the plaster repaired, Kump said.

Postel summed up the goal concerning of the restoration: “not to change it, but to bring out the same luster it’s always had.”

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